Foldable highchair



Sept. 1, 1964 Filed June 26, 1962 D. M RAE FOLDABLE HIGHCHAIR' 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

Duncan M 2678 BY Parker Canfer Aflomeys United States Patent 3,147,036 FOLDABLE HIGHCHAIR Duncan McRae, Whitehall, Mich, assignor to Novo Industrial Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 26, 1962, Ser. No. 205,309 1 Claim. (Cl. 297-56) This invention relates to a foldable highchair.

A primary purpose of the invention is a high chair, simple in construction, and which can be easily folded into a compact form.

Another purpose is a high chair of the type described having a flexible seat, which is unsupported except at the front and rear of the highchair.

Another purpose is a highchair of the type described in which a portion of the highchair may be used as a hanger when the highchair is folded.

Other purposes will appear in the ensuing specification, drawings and claim.

The invention is illustrated diagrammatically in the following dravvings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the highchair, with the seat and tray removed,

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the highchair, similar to FIGURE 1, with the seat and tray in position,

FIGURE 3 is a front view of the highchair, and

FIGURE 4 is a side view of the highchair.

A highchair, indicated generally at 10, may have a pair of spaced front legs 12 and a pair of spaced rear legs 14. The legs 12 and 14 and all of the frame members making up the highchair may be formed from suitable hollow tubing or the like. The bottom of each of the legs may have a suitable rubber or plastic foot indicated at 16.

The front legs 12 each have upwardly and rearwardly inclined sections 18, which also converge toward each other, as illustrated in FIGURE 3. Above the sections 18 the front legs 12 extend generally upwardly, as at 20, with a back member 22 joining the sections 20 at their upper ends. Preferably the front legs 12 are integral with each other through the back sections 20 and 22, although these sections may be separate and then welded or otherwise suitably connected together. It is preferred to use a single piece of tubing for ease in manufacture.

The rear legs 16 are each pivotally connected to a front leg, as at 24, with a suitable plastic washer or the like 26 being positioned between the pivotal legs. Each of the rear legs 16 extends upwardly and forwardly and mounts a frame member indicated generally at 28 at their upward ends. The frame member 28 is pivotally connected to the upper ends of the rear legs 16, as at 30.

A seat support member 38 may be rigidly secured to an upper portion of the rear legs 16 and supports the bottom of the seat, as indicated in FIGURE 2. The seat 46 which preferably is formed of cloth, plastic or some other flexible material, may have a pocket at its upper end which fits around or over the cross piece 22 and a second pocket at its lower forward end which fits over the seat support 38. It is important to note that the seat is unsupported except for the two pockets. The material need not be supported in the center as normally cloth, plastic or other suitable materials will have suflicient strength to hold the infant without tearing.

A suitable tray 42 may be mounted on brackets 44 posi tioned on the outside of the side sections 32. The tray 3,147,036 Patented Sept. 1, 1964 and bracket arrangement may be conventional and will not be described in detail. The tray may be pivotally mounted on one side of the highchair and clamped to the opposite side for quick and easy removal.

A support member 50 may extend between pivot points 24 to give additional strength to the chair framework.

The use, operation and function of the invention are as follows:

To fold the highchair, the frame member 28 is pivoted in an upward direction, as indicated by arrow 46. At the same time the front and rear legs are pivoted toward each other, or in the alternative, the upper portion of the rear legs is pivoted toward the rear portion of the front legs as indicated by arrow 48. When the highchair is folded, the legs move in a scissor-like fashion and will close on each other.

After folding, the back of the frame member 28 forms a hanger for the chair. The legs will lie close to each other with the rear portion 34 of the frame member 28 extending above the closed legs.

Of particular importance in the invention is the simplicity of construction. There are only six pieces making up the framework and each of these may be formed from suitable hollow tubing or the like. Preferably the front legs are integral with each other through the back portion of the highchair. The tubing shown may be easily formed to the configuration of the various parts and then the entire chair may be quickly assembled by the use of screws, bolts or the like.

Whereas the preferred form of the invention has been shown and described herein, it should be realized that there are many modifications, substitutions and alterations thereto within the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

A foldable highchair including a pair of spaced front legs and a pair of spaced rear legs, said front legs extending upwardly and rearwardly, a generally horizontally disposed cross piece integral with the upper ends of said front legs and forming a back for the highchair, said rear legs extending upwardly and forwardly and terminating below said horizontally disposed cross piece, each of said rear legs being pivotally connected, intermediate its ends, to a front leg, a frame member having side sections and a rear section, said frame member side sections being pivotally mounted to the upper ends of said rear legs with the back section of said frame member being pivotally movable to a position behind the rear part of said front legs, outwardly extending lug means on the rear part of said front legs for positioning the back section of the frame member below the generally horizontally disposed cross piece forming the back of the highchair, a seat support member fastened to both rear legs above the pivotal connection with said front legs and below the pivotal connection of said side sections and the upper ends of said rear legs, said seat support member extending forwardly of said rear legs and being generally horizontally disposed, a seat formed of a flexible material, said seat having a pocket which fits over said generally horizontally disposed cross piece and a second pocket which fits over said seat support member, said flexible seat being supported only by said cross piece and said seat support member, and a tray fastened to said side sections, upward pivotal movement of said frame member and pivotal movement of said front and rear legs toward each other being effective to fold said highchair so that the front and rear legs are substantially closed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Thorne Dec. 23, 1958 Garcia Feb. 17, 1959 Stevens Sept. 1, 1959 Balfour July 12, 1960 Barker Mar. 28, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain 1- Feb. 17, 1960 France Apr. 27, 1955 

